In
the posh hillside community of Brentwood, on Sunset
Boulevard (just west of the San Diego Freeway) is the parish of St.
Martin of Tours Catholic church. It's a handsome Moorish-style church,
with impressive statues out front, a fairly modern
interior, and a congregation which contains more than a few Hollywood celebrities.

The church is the
home parish to the many Catholic stars who live in Brentwood, and has been
the site of numerous celebrity weddings, funerals and baptisms. Back in
1951, for instance, actor Tyrone Power
had his infant daughter (Romina Francesca) baptized at St. Martins.

In
1994, the church was the site of the funeral of O.J.
Simpson's former wife, Nicole
Simpson, who was brutally murdered outside
her nearby condo in Brentwood. When O.J. Simpson and his children attended
the funeral services (shortly before he was arrested and charged with her
murder), the press caused a mob scene outside the church.

On
March 9, 1994, the funeral for comic actor John
Candy was held at St. Martin of Tours.
Those in attendance for the service included Tom
Hanks,Chevy
Chase,Bill
Murray, Martin
Short,Rick
Moranis,Jim
Belushi,Rhea
Perlman, Mariel Hemingway,Ed HarrisandDan Aykroyd
(who delivered the eulogy). Candy was buried at Holy Cross
Cemetery in Culver City.

The
August 1998 funeral of Pulitzer prize-winning sports columnist Jim
Murray was also held at St. Martin.
In addition to numerous sports figures (such as Mike Tyson),
the funeral was also attended by Peter Falk,
Dabney Coleman
and Red Buttons.
(He was also buried at Holy Cross.)

In August of 2002,
the world said farewell to another sports legend, the voice of the L.A.
Lakers for 42 years, announcer Chick Hearn,
in a funeral Mass held at St. Martin's, presided over by Cardinal Roger
Mahoney. Following the third Laker championship in a row, Chick was so
popular that the service was broadcast live on most L.A. TV stations.

Actor Jack
Nicholson, always in the front row at
the Lakers games, was present. Delivering eulogies at at Chick's funeral
were Lakers Magic Johnson, Rick Fox and Jerry West; in attendance were
other basketball greats, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor,
Kobe Bryant, Norm Nixon, James Worthy, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley
& John Wooden, as well as the Mayor, the Governor and Dodgers
announcer Vin Scully. (Chick, too, was buried
at Holy Cross.)

And in July of 2012, Sylvester Stallone held the funeral for his son (Sage) at St. Martin's.

Getting
there: To reach St. Martin's, take
the San Diego (405) Freeway to the Sunset Boulevard exit, and head west
about one mile (before Bundy Drive). The church will be on your right (north)
side.

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